Start Seeing Art

“Family” is a three-piece sculpture made of steel rods that represent a father, mother and child. The piece was made in 1978 and sat in front of the FDA building in Minneapolis until 2004 when the building was being torn down. Erickson was asked to move the sculpture and it eventually found a new home at the Como Zoo across from Seal Island.

The Frog Pond in Como Park is named for a small granite bullfrog that sits on a concrete slab in the middle of the pond. But the history of the sculpture is a little murky. As near as we can tell, the frog was created by an unknown artist in Japan in 1923.

“Toby the Tortoise” by Tom Tischler is a bronze sculpture in the donor plaza at Como Zoo in front of the original 1936 Zoological Building. The sculpture is a popular place to take pictures and almost always has children climbing on the tortoise’s back.

This sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi is located in the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park in St. Paul. The artist is unknown.

This untitled painting by Gretchen Dreisbach is hanging in the Como Park Conservatory in a room between the new fern room and the palm dome. It’s always struck me as a rather nondescript abstract painting. She didn’t even bother to title it (and a painting like this just screams for an even more abstract title). The sign next to it notes that it’s a gift of the artist, which makes me wonder if they felt obligated to hang it up somewhere.

Visitors to St. Paul’s Como Zoo created this “Earth Day Mural” on April 22, 2000 with the help of artist Teresa Cox who designed and directed the project. ArtStart/ArtScraps also partnered on the project and Valspar Corporation donated the paint.

Betty Sievert sculpted “Don the Gorilla” in 1982 and donated the sculpture to the Como Zoo in St. Paul. Don stands outside the primate house making for an ideal photo opp.

Much like the giraffe, polar bear and Sparky sculptures at the Como Zoo, I’m assuming the penguins are also by Third Street Studios.

Created by Third Street Studios, these giraffes were donated to Como Zoo in St. Paul in 1994 in memory of Sandra Kay Bjick. In spite of the signs admonishing people not to climb on the sculptures, the back of each giraffe has a thoroughly worn spot where many a child has sat for the requisite picture.

This Polar Bears sculpture was created by Third Street Studios for the Como Zoo in St. Paul. The playful sculpture is a bit more lively than the live polar bears who do little more than pace.